Lawsuit Cites Report That 20 Percent of Guns Recovered At Crime Scenes in Chicago Are Purchased Outside of Chicago

With Illinois conceal carry going into effect, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel was faced with federal lawsuits from gun activists because Chicago had banned businesses from selling guns and ammunition within its borders. In 2014, a federal court decided that the city failed to prove that banning the sale of guns by licensed dealers was necessary to reduce gun violence. Still, some gun dealers say that Chicago has ordinances that require them jump through hoops.

Illinois doesn’t license and regulate gun dealers. The state leaves it up to municipalities to regulate gun stores doing business in their towns. For example, Chicago can have different regulations for gun shops located in Chicago than Cicero, Peoria, Lyons, etc. One town requires that gun dealers be licensed by the federal government.

When straw purchasers are identified and denied sales in Chicago, they can drive the Illinois highways to other towns until they find a gun shop that will sell to them.

Reverend Michael Pfleger and Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, announced that many of the guns recovered from Chicago crime scenes came from stores located in Lincolnwood, Lyons, and Riverdale, Illinois. Today, a lawsuit was filed by Lawyers for the Coalition for Safe Chicago Communities against the aforementioned Chicago suburban villages for their failure to regulate gun shops.

The lawsuit alleges that the aforementioned suburbs’ violate the Illinois Civil Rights Act by failing to adequately monitor gun sales. It alleges that the stores are violating the rights of citizens by preventing them from doing regular activities, such as walking to school and playing in parks. The lawsuit also alleges that those villages have “lax or insufficient methods of administration in licensing and regulating gun dealers.”

The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Coalition for Safe Communities in Chicago is focused on Chuck’s Gun Shop in Riverdale, Midwest Guns in Lyons and Shore Galleries in Lincolnwood. The lawsuit cites a city of Chicago report to support that those stores, along with Westforth Sports in Gary, accounted for nearly 20 percent of guns recovered at crime scenes in Chicago between 2009 and 2013.

Rev. Michael Pfleger says officials in some communities have closed their eyes to how some gun shops do business because they don’t want to lose the taxes those shops pay. | Saiyna Bashir/Sun-Times

Reverend Pfleger is pastor of St. Sabina Catholic Church, and the Reverend Robin Hood, a West Side pastor, are among the plaintiffs in the civil-rights lawsuit against the villages of Riverdale, Lyons and Lincolnwood.

Officials with the city of Lyons said they have already met with Chicago police to address their concerns about a gun shop there. An attorney for Lincolnwood said officials there could not see “any conceivable basis for liability” on the part of the village.

There is a section of the Illinois Civil Rights that applies to local government, and it gives a private right of action to bring a civil suit. The lawsuit filed today does not ask that the gun stores be closed but rather, asks the court to issue an injunction requiring them to strengthen their regulation of gun stores. The lawsuit wants Riverdale, Lyons and Lincolnwood to perform background checks of store employees and train them to identify straw purchasers who purchase guns to supply them to people who are barred from owning firearms.

Yahtzee,
You might remember me sharing how some people seek the courts for a decision that is used in other cases. In the case of Chicago, it was a federal decision. Chicago mayor Emanuel and former Illinois Governor Quinn worked against conceal carry, and Emanuel worked against having to allow gun shops in Chicago. The federal court did not allow them to represent the interests of citizens. All it took was a gun activist group to claim their second amendment rights.

The Brady Campaign has worked long and hard in the federal courts to get some semblance of allowing the States to decide on gun regulation. If any State that has gun regulation that is too strict for the gun activists, we can look for them to use that federal case decision that takes such regulation from the states and put it into the hands of the municipalities.

Think about this — when guns are being sold in several suburbs that do not experience gun violence as in Chicago, what do they care? Their businesses are making money, paying taxes, and they go home at night with no concern for bullets that were sold in their city flying by their heads.

Until our society is willing to accept that violence is not the solution to solving problems, no amount of gun regulation will reduce the death rate from guns. We need to think real seriously about why the murder rate of our young people is out of control. To ignore the cultural aspect of gun violence amongst our fellow citizens is foolish and has been overlooked for too long.

Mothman,
I’m not sure if we can put a finger on the “cultural aspect of gun violence.” When I hear that, I think of drug dealing gangs and their territory. However, that is simply using different words to say the Mafia and family. One does drive-by’s, and the other does “hits.” I don’t have the answer to how to stop “the cultural aspect of gun violence” because I always heard that once you’re in the family/gang, you’re in it for life.

It is concerning that we spend a lot of time discussing the need for change, but fail to address the problem of changing the culture of violence that serves to prevent any true change to occur. Putting our heads under the sand like an ostrich and ignoring the problem will not resolve it. It is so easy to blame a flag, a race, or guns, or even political parties, but until the individuals on all sides start accepting responsibility for their actions, all we will have is empty words and no real progress in securing equality for all citizens…

We spend time discussing the need for change because too many in comfortable places of power don’t exactly agree with our idea of change. They couldn’t care less about equality for all.
The policy makers & gun lobbies have worked really hard to bring back the wild wild west mentality from the brink of extinction& based it on bigotry & greed. Re. 3 idiots who voted against removing the racist flag from a tax funded building.
These ppl haven’t gotten this rich& powerful by accident. They’ve had centuries of practice.

shannoninmiami, The problem is that we can’t actually effect change without bringing change in the community. Do you really think that change will be the result of simply taking down a flag? Can you honestly say that change is not going to have to occur within the affected communities before real progress will be made? Do you think that the present culture of violence is going to allow change to take place? Or do you think that only one side of the equation should accept responsibility for the present conditions? Change usually comes about when all sides are willing to compromise and come to an agreement.

Okay Mothman, so please help me here. Explain or suggest how I can change the culture of violence. The confederate flag, guns, political parties, and even race, are controversies and issues that have roots. Sticking our heads in the sand is much like forgetting the roots. There will always be people who do not accept responsibility for their actions and thoughts. What are we suppose to do with them?

I find it ironic how so many want people of color to ‘let go of the past’ when speaking of the horrible atrocities committed against their ancestors yet the same folks who say that, can’t let go of that hateful flag.

mindyme62, Is it even possible to “let go of the past”? If we had a way to change the past, it would be wonderful, however I know of no way to do so. If we can’t move forward to the present, how can we change the future? Will removing “that hateful flag”, remove the hateful thoughts that people hold in their hearts? I’m not suggesting that it should not be removed, just the opposite, it did/does need to be removed because of the history behind it, but will it have a positive result? Perhaps I am once again wrong, because I don’t think that simply punishing people for the past will, especially those that had no real control over the past, will bring about true reform in the future. People who have hatred in their hearts will not change because we remove a mere symbol of their ancestors actions. If we could develop a pill that could change hate into love, our problem would go away.

Mindyme, in regards to the confederate flag, those honoring it do not see a past because they want the present and future to be the same, with whites having superiority and authority over all people of color. That letting go of the past that they want from others is nothing more than an abusive spouse doing the same things day in, day out, and making it the fault of the abused spouse.

Xena, If I had the solution for solving the problem, it is quite likely I would not be here and discussing the need for a solution. IMO, perhaps the first step in resolution would be first to admit that there is a problem? Maybe it is I that is foolish for hoping that a fair and equitable solution can be found. I still hold out hope that a time will come where all people are equal regardless of the color of their skin, and we as people treat each other as we wish to be treated ourselves.
PS: I am up early this morning because I have a small medical problem that needs to be treated, so if I do not log back in for a short period of time, please don’t assume that I am failing to respond for any other reason.

Xena, If I had the solution for solving the problem, it is quite likely I would not be here and discussing the need for a solution.

We do look for solutions, and that’s the start.

IMO, perhaps the first step in resolution would be first to admit that there is a problem?

In my opinion, I think we all admit there are problems. I emphasize problem in the plural because I don’t think there is one problem, or resolving one problem will resolve all problems, unless we find a medication to inject a love virus into all of mankind.

Here’s wishing you the best on your medical treatment. I went this morning for a CTscan and had to come home and apply ice to my arm where they put the IV with solution to illuminate my brain. 🙂

“The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the Coalition for Safe Communities in Chicago is focused on Chuck’s Gun Shop in Riverdale, Midwest Guns in Lyons and Shore Galleries in Lincolnwood. The lawsuit cites a city of Chicago report to support that those stores, along with Westforth Sports in Gary, accounted for nearly 20 percent of guns recovered at crime scenes in Chicago between 2009 and 2013.”

Linda, I remember the time when I owned what the Chief of Police called a “pea shooter.” He said if I wanted to cause damage, I needed to use hollow points. Hollow point bullets were illegal in Illinois. On a trip to Michigan, we stopped at a flea market. The guy sold me hollow points, no questions asked.

Gun shows in red states are a common source of guns for people who aren’t supposed to have them – generally all you need to do to buy at shows is to show a drivers license. This needs to stop. We need regulation of guns as much as we need regulation of automobiles. It matters who has firearms and it matters if all are certifiably sane, trained, and licensed to use and store them properly. Better gun control won’t stop all gun crime and accidents, but it will cut down on it.

Here is the lawsuit document filed by the Coalition for Safe Chicago Communities against Riverdale, Lyons, and Lincolnwood for lax or insufficient “methods of administration” in licensing or regulating gun dealers.